Safety-gate for bridges.



C. PAUST.

SAFETY GATE FOR BRIDGES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 6, 1911. 1,017,090, Patented Feb. 13,1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1. 1

H E/W00 1 /"%7. @WWmmwd I? y;

G. FAUST.

SAFETY GATE FOR BRIDGES.

APPLIOATION FILED NOV. 6, 1911.

1,0]. 7,090. Patentd Feb. 13, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

CASPER FA'UST, 0F OSI-IKOSH, WISCONSIN.

SAFETY-GATE FOR BRIDGES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 13, 1912.

Application filed November 6, 1911. .SeriaI No. 658,738.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CASPER FAUST, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Oshkosh, in the county of Winnebago and State of Visconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety- Gates for Bridges; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention refers to automatically actuated safety gates for horizontally swinging bridges, its primary object being to provide means for locking the gates in their closed position whereby they will resist shock incidental to contact of a heavy body moving in the direction of the open bridge.

Specific objects of my invention are to provide an adjustable curved cam-rail in connection with the bridge for actuating the gates; to provide a reciprocative cam-actuating plunger having a yoke connection that is linked to the bridge gates, whereby movement of the latter is controlled; to provide disappearing gate-l0cking stubs under control of the plunger yoke, whereby the said stubs are brought into the return path of travel of the gates, the plunger-yoke control being such that said stubs will follow up and engage the gates incidental to their closure, the stubs being adapted to rise and fall through slotted apertures formed within the bridge abutment, and to provide a telescopic spring-controlled yieldable plunger for engagement with the bridge-cam, whereby variations in the required movement imparted to said plunger through its actuating cam are compensated for.

With the above and other minor objects in view my invention consists in certain peculiarities of construction and combination of parts as hereinafter set forth with reference to the accompanying drawings and subsequently claimed.

In the drawings Figure 1 represents a fragmentary inverted plan view of one end of a horizontally swinging bridge and its abutment 'having attached thereto safety gate mechanism embodying the features of my invention with parts broken away and parts in section to more clearly illustrate the structural features; Fig. 2, a longitudinal sectional elevation of the same, the section being indicated by line 22 of Fig. 1, said elevation showing the bridge in its closed position; Fig. 3, a longitudinal sectional view of a modified form of cam-controlled plunger for actuating the gates, the plunger being provided with a telescopic section equipped with a spring whereby said section is slightly yieldable; Fig. 4, a detailed crosssection of the same; Fig. 5, a detailed modified form of gate-locking stub, the same being shown in its locked position against the gate which is closed, with a portion of the gate abutment in section, and Fig. 6, a detailed cross-section of a controlling weight mechanism for the gate-operating plunger.

Referring by characters to the drawings, 1 represents the end ofa horizontally swinging bridge and 2 the abutment, the bridge being shown in its closed position in Figs. 1 and 2. Secured to the end of the bridge is a flexible cam-track 8, the same being provided with slotted ears 3, 3", which are engaged by suitable retaining bolts that are anchored within the bridge in any suitable manner. posed longitudinally of the bridge, while the slots in the outer ears 3 are arranged at right angles thereto, whereby said cam-rail may be straightened or its curvature increased depending upon the amount of throw which is required to actuate safetygate operating mechanism to be hereinafter described, it being apparent that to set this flexible cam-rail the various retaining bolts are first loosened.

Mounted within suitable sets of horizon-- tally and vertically disposed anti-friction rollers 4, 5, respectively, is a plunger-bar 6, the supporting rollers constituting a bearing therefor, the same being suitably mounted The slots in the ears 3 are dis upon the brackets secured to the abutment superstructure 2. The forward end of the plunger carries an anti-friction roller 6 which is arranged in the path of travel of the cam-rail, whereby said plunger is actuated in one direction to open the gates incidental to the bridge being swung to its closed position. The rear end of the plunger is connected to a cable 7 which passes over a sheave 7 and has suspended from its opposite end a controlling weight 7 and thus it will be seen that when the bridge is opened this weight causes the plunger to retract, whereby the safety gates are closed by a mechanism to be hereinafter mentioned.

The plunger-bar is provided with a yoke 8, which yoke is braced by a cross-bar 8, whereby rigidity is added thereto, ends 8 of the yoke being extended rearwardly of and paralleling the plunger. Gate-spindles 9 are journaled within suitable bearings mounted in the abutment and extending therethrough and to the upper ends of these spindles are secured butterfly gates 10, the opposite wings of which constitute closures for a foot and roadway of the abutment. The lower ends of the spindles have secured thereto crank-arms 11, which crankarms are connected by rods 12 to extensions 12 of the yoke, the rods being provided with turn-buckles 12 whereby fine adjustment can be had. By this construction it will be seen that the plunger-bar through its yoke is connected to the gates and thus constitutes operating mechanism therefor, the said operating mechanism being actuated in one direction by the bridge cam-rail and in the opposite direction by the control ling weight 7.

In order to compensate for variations in the movements of the mechanism and also to provide a yielding connection between the gates and cam-rail, in some instances I prefer to utilize a plunger-bar such as illustrated in Fig. 3. This plunger-bar comprises a pair of U-shaped angle-iron struts 13, 13, which are matched together to form a longitudinal box. The box-ends and intermediate points are provided with apertured heads 14, 14, which are secured by suitable retaining bolts. The forward pairs of said heads form guide-ways for a recip rocating plunger section 15, the same being provided with a collar, between which collar and the end head 14: there is interposed a coiled spring for the purpose of resisting out-ward yield of said plunger section. The exposed head of the plunger section 15 carries an anti-friction roller 6 for engagement with the cam-rail 3. The rear pair of heads 14, 1 1, carry a pull-rod 16, the outer end of which is adapted to be connected to the weighted cable, the inner end of said pull-rod being provided with a collar whereby the latter is held in its normal position incidental to forward movement of the plunger rod when the same is actuated by the bridge cam-rail. By this construction it will be apparent that should the cam rail be set at a greater pitch than that required to open the gates fully, the surplus movement will be taken up by the coiled spring as the plunger-rod is checked by suitable stops 17, which, in this instance, as best shown in Fig. 1, extend from the abutment and are adapted to engage the yoke cross-bar 8.

As best shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the roadway portion of the abutment is provided with slotted apertures 18, into which are seated stubs 19, their lower ends being fulcrumed to brackets 20 that are carried by abutment timbers 21. These stubs have strap connections 22 which terminate at their outer ends with eyes 22' that engage the yoke ends 8, which yoke ends are arranged to have sliding play therein.

When the gates are in their normal position, the stubs rest within the slotted apertures of the abutment in the position shown in Fig. 2, and below the surface of the road. hen the bridge is opened the plunger recedes under its weight control, whereby the gates are closed and just before said gates come to their full closed position across the roadway the extensions 12 of the yoke 8 will engage the eyes 22 of the straps 22, causing said stubs to rise above the surface of the bridge abutments and engage the gates upon that side adjacent to the bridgegap. The stubs thus follow the bridge gates and hold the same locked in their closed positions under the weight control of the bridge-operating mechanism. By this construction it is apparent that should a heavy body strike the closed gate the abutments would resist the force and prevent breakage or serious damage and accident incidental to an attempt of driven vehicles to be forced theret-hrough through carelessness r otherwise.

Fig. 5 of the drawings illustrates another form of disappearing stub 19 for locking the gates and in this modified form the stub is slidably mounted within a slot 18' of the bridge abutment. The lower end of the stub is forked for engagement withan 01fset cam portion 8- of the yoke ends, it being understood that the yoke in this case is connected in any suitable manner to the plunger bar 6. The terminal of the yoke ends in this form of my invention is preferably guided in bearing-blocks 23, which bearing-blocks are secured. to the abutment timber 21. By this arrangement when the plunger is about to complete its rearward movement the cam extension 8 will engage the forked end of the stub 19 and thus thrust said stub upward through the abutment to cause engagement of the upper end of said stubs with the closed gate, whereby the locking is effected.

It is apparent that when the gates are opened that the stubs will be thrown to their normal position of rest by movement of said gates, in which position they are held by gravity, but it should be understood however that any equivalent means may be employed. for returning the stubs to rest after the same have been relieved from a locking force exerted thereon by the plunger movement.

I claim:

1. In a horizontally swinging bridge having a cam-rail adjacent to its end, an apertured abutment with which the bridge is adapted to register, a reciprocative roller carrying plunger adapted to be actuated in one direction by the cam-rail, guides for the plunger carried by the abutment, a weighted cable in connection with said plunger whereby the same is moved in one direction; the combination of a yoke carried by the plunger, gate-carrying spindles journaled in the aforesaid abutment, cranks secured to the spindles, rods connecting the cranks and plunger yoke, disappearing gate locking stubs mounted within the abutment apertures, and actuating means for the stubs controlled by movement of said plunger.

2. In a horizontally swinging bridge having a cam-rail adjacent to its end, an apertured abutment with which the bridge is adapted to register, a reciprocative rollerearrying plunger adapted to be actuated in one direction by the cam-rail, guides for the plunger carried by the abutment, a weighted cable in connection with said. plunger whereby thesame is moved in one direction; the combination of a yoke carried by the plunger having end extensions, gate-carrying spindles journaled in the abutment, cranks secured to the spindles, rods connecting the cranks and plunger yoke, disappearing gatelocking stubs mounted within the abutment apertures, eyed straps connecting the stubs the strap-eyes being in slidable engagement with ends of the yoke and an extension carried by the yoke-ends adapted to abut the strap-eyes whereby the stubs are actuated incidental to a gate-closing movement of said plunger.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand at Milwaukee in the county of Milwaukee and State of Visconsin in the presence of two Witnesses.

CASPER FAUST.

Witnesses:

MAY DOWNEY, G120. WV. YOUNG.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, .D. G. 

